Controlling means for electrical equipment



May 8, 1934. J. F. TIMMON S- 1,957,479

I CONTROLLING MEANS FOR ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT Filed Oct. 1, 19:51

5 tively,

Patented May 8, 1934 UNITED STA'lES PATENT OFFICE John F. Timmons, Coshocton, Ohio Application October 1, 1931, Serial No. 566,379 3 Claims. (01. 172-288) This invention relates to electrical controlling means and more particularly to means for starting and controlling electric motors, the primary object of the invention being to provide flexible means for starting and controlling the motor and enabling the operator to control the'motor from a remote point. An example of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing and will be hereinafter fully described, the novel features being particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a diagram of mechanism embodying the invention,

Fig.2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of athermionic valve employed in the invention,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the valve,

Fig. 41s a diagram showing a. variation.

In Fig. 1, the reference numerals 1 and 2 designate the trunk lines whereby electric current is brought into and carried from a building and the numeral 3 designates a motor which is employed for driving various machines and which has one side connected to the line 2, as shown. A branch conductor 4 leads from the trunk line 1 to a contactor 5 located at any convenient point of the building and comprising a fixed member and a resilient member, the resilient member being provided with an extension 6 of insulation which is normally resting against a controlling 3 lever 7. The lever 7 may be operated in any convenient manner and is preferably a hand lever having its handle suitably insulated so as to prevent shocks to the operator. The fixed member of the contactor 5 is connected electrically with the lever '7 through a conductor 8. Ar-

ranged adjacent the lever 7, and adapted to be engaged thereby to establish a how of current, are contacts-9 which are disposed in an arcuate series concentric with the fulcrum of the lever so that they-may be successively engaged by the lever and make contact therewith as the lever is rocked. Conductors 10, 11, 12 and '13 lead from the several contacts 9 to electro-magnets or coils 14, 15, 16 and 17, respectively, and from the armatures 18, 19, 20 and 2l of the respective magnets, conductors 22, 23, 24 and 25 are arranged to convey current to the motor, as shown, the conductors 22, 23 and 24 having resistance coils 26, 27 and 28 interposed therein, respecso that the current may be supplied to the motor in various degrees and a gradual attainment of the full speed of the motor accomplished.

The several armatures have their upper portions formed by conducting material while the lower portions, below the fulcrums, are of insulation,

engaged by terminals as will be understood upon reference to Fig. 1.

A branch conductor 29 leads from he trunk line 1 and has its terminal 30 arranged adjacentthe armature 18 so that, when said armature is attracted by the magnet 14 and rocked, the contacts 30 and 31 will be brought into electrical engagement and a flow of current set up over the conductor 22 and through the several resistances 26, 27 and 28 to the motor. Branch conductors 32, 33 and 34 extend from the 86 conductor 22 in advance of the respective resistances and have their respective terminals 35, 36 and 37 arranged adjacent and in position to be 38, 39 and 40 on the respective armatures 19, 20 and 21. A third conductor 41 leads from the trunk line 1 and passes to and is secured to a contact point 42 carried by the insulated end of the armature 18. This contact point 42 will make electrical connection with a contact point 43 when the armature 18 is rocked and from said contact 43 a conductor 44 leads to and through a resistance 45 which will be hereinafter more fully described. The conductor 10 leads into the winding of the coil 14, as has been stated, and from said winding a conductor 46 extends to the trunk line 2 so that, when the lever 7 is moved onto the terminal of the conductor 10,

a circuit will be established through the coil or magnet 14 and the coil will be energized. When the coil is energized, its armature 18 will be at- 86 tracted and the contactors 30 and 31 will be closed and the contactors 42 and 43 will also be closed.

The end of the resistance 45, remote from the conductor 44, is connected to a conductor 47 which extends to one side of a normally closed contactor 48 the opposite side of which is connected through a conductor 49 with the trunk line 2. At a point nearer the conductor 47, a line 50 extends from resistance 45 to a variable resistance 51 which is, in turn, connected to a conductor 52, the ends of which are connected to the filaments 53 and 54 of thermionic tubes 55 and 56, respectively, while, intermediate the ends of the conductor 52,

a filament 57 of ,a thermionic tube 58 is connected therewith. It may be noted at this point that, while I have illustrated three tubes and a corresponding number of electro-magnets, the number of the tubes and the magnets may be greater or less according to the demands of any particular installation. Adjacent the several 10 tubes, variable resistances 59, 60 and 61 are disposed and connected with one side of the respective filaments. From the resistance 59, connected with the filament 53, a conductor 62 extends to a normally closed contactor 63 which is arranged ll0 '17 connects the 64. The insulated end of the armature 19 is disposed midway between the closed contactor 63 and the normally open contactor 65 and is connected with the movable members of both contactors. From the movable member of the contactor 63, a conductor 66 extends to the movable member of the normally closed contactor 48 to which member the conductor 47 is also secured. The insulated end of the armature 20 is, in like manner, connected with the movable members of ,a normally closed contactor 6'1 and the movable member of a normally open contactor 68, a conductor 69 connecting the fixed members of the contactors 65 and 6'1. The insulated end of the armature 21 is likewise secured to the movable members of the contactor 48 and a normally closed contactor '10 and a conductor '11 connects the fixed members of the contactors 68 and '10, as shown,

The winding of the coil or magnet 15 is connected at one side to the conductor 11, as will be understood, while at the opposite sideor end it is connected by a conductor '12 with the plate element '13 of the thermionic tube 55 while, disposed at one side of said conductor '12 and connected therewith, is a contact point '14 which is adapted to be electrically engaged, at times, by a contact point '15 mounted on the insulated portion of the armature 19, above the fulcrum of said armature, and connected by a conductor '16 with the main conductor 46. Likewise, a conductor winding of the magnet 16 with the plate element '18 of the thermionic tube 58 and a conductor '19 connects the winding of the magnet 1'1 with the plate element of the thermionic tube 56. A contact po' t 81 is connected with the conductor '17 and adapted to be engaged by a contact point 82 on the insulated portion of the armature 20, above the fulcrum of said armature, and a conductor 83 connects said contact point 82 with the conductor 46. Likewise, a contact point 84 is connected with the conductor '19 and adapted to be engaged by a contact point on the insulated portion of the armature 21, the contact point 85 being connected by a conductor 86 with the conductor 46 and, through the latter, with the trunk line 2. The filament 54 is connected by a conductor 8'1 with the movable member of the contactor 68 while the filament 5'1 is connected by a conductor 88 with the movable member of the contactor 65.

It may be noted, at this point, that the tubes employed by me contain only a filament and a plate.

In use, the filaments of the thermionic tubes become heated and it is this characteristic of the tubes that I utilize in the present invention. The heating of the filament, however, causes it to expand and this expansion with the vibration due to external sources eventually causes bending or breaking of the filament so that it may come into contact with the plate and cause operation of the associated switch prematurely with resultant damage to the motor or other machinery. To avoid this disastrous result in my invention, as best seen in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing, I provide a guard around the filament which will prevent contact of the filament with the plate element of the tube. Within the tube, I secure, upon its pack, a pair of pins or short standards which are disposed at opposite sides of the filament and, upon these standards or pins, 1 secure a plurality of vertically spaced sheets 91 of mica or other material having central openings to accommodate the filament and avoid actual contact therewit It will be obvious that it the filament should bend or break, or be otherwise disarranged, the bent portion will be caught by the mica sheets and will be thereby held so that it will not touch the plate.

In operation, when the controlling lever '1 is in the position shown in Fig. 1, the contactor 5 will be open and no current will pass to the motor which is at rest. When the controlling lever '1 is rocked, so as to engage the first contact point 9, the coil 14 will be energized and a current established-through the same and the conductors l0 and 46 between the trunk lines 1 and 2, as has been stated, and as will be understood upon reference to the drawing. When the coil is energized, the armature 18 is attracted and the contact members 30 and 31 are brought together so that a circuit is established from the trunk line 1 over the conductor 29, the armature 18 and conductor 22 through the resistances 26, 2'1 and 28 to the motor and an initial impulse will be set up in the motor which will move at a very slow speed. When the armature 18 is rocked, as stated, the contact 42 will be swung onto the contact 43 and current may then flow over conductor 41, through the conductor 44 and the resistance 45, the conductor 4'1, contactor 48 and conductor 49 to the trunk line 2. Some 01 the current, however, will be diverted over the branch 50 through the variable resistance 51 to the conductor 52 and will pass through the filament'53 of the tube 55 and then through the variable resistance 59 and conductor 62 to the normally closed contactor 63 whence it will fiow over the conductor 66 to the normally closed contactor 48 and then over the conductor 49 to the trunk line 2. The filament53 will, consequently, begin to heat and eventually will reach the temperature fiow of electrons between itself and the plate element '13. No additional circuit, however, will be closed until the controlling lever has been moved over to the second contact point 9 inasmuch as the conductor '12, leading from the plate '13, is disconnected at the contact point '14 from all other conductors, and at the contact point 9 reaches another terminal. When the controlling lever is moved over onto the second point 9, a circuit is established through the coil 15 from the conductor 4 and the conductor 11 and thence over the conductor 72 to the plate '13 and out through the conductor 52, variable resistance 51 and the.conductor 4'1, as will be understood. The armature 19 will, consequently, be attracted and the contacts '15 and '14 thereby brought into engagement simultaneously with the closing of the contacts 35 and 38. The coil 14 remains energized and, consequently, the current flowing from the' trunk line 1 over the conductor 29 will pass through the conductor 22, the branch 32 and the armature 19 to the conductor 23, then fiowing over the conductor 33 and through the resistances 2'1 and 28 to the motor, thereby cutting out the resistance 26 and permitting the motor to develop a higher speed. When the contacts 75 and '14 are brought together by the rocking of the armature 19, the circuit through the coil is shiited through the conductor 76 to the conductor 46 and thence to thetrunk line 2, and the normally closed contactor 63 is opened so that the filament 53 is cut out and will then be permitted to cool. At the same time, the normally open contactor 65 is closed so that the filament 5'1 is brought into circuit through the wires 52 and 4'1 and ough the short end of the resistance 45. Whe the controlling lever is moved another step onto the third contact point 9. fiow oi the current is established over the conductor 12 to the coil 16 but said coil is not energized inasmuch as the path meets an open terminal at the point 81 and also at the plate 78 and the energization of the coil will not occur until the filament 57 has been heated sufiiciently to set up a flow of electrons between itself and the plate 78 whereupon the circuit will be closed through the conductor 77 to the coil 16 which will then be energized and attract the armature 20 causing the same to rock and place the contact points 82 and 81 in engagement and simultaneously open the normally closed contactor 67 and close the normally open contactor 68. The circuit through the coil will thus be diverted through the conductor 83 to the conductor 46 and thence to the trunk line 2 so that the tube 58 will be out out and the filament 57 will be permitted to cool. When the armature 20 is rocked, as described, the contacts 36 and 39 are brought together and the current from the conductors 29 and 22 will then fiow through the conductor 23, the armature 20 and conductors 24 and 34 through the resistance 28 to the motor thereby cutting out the resistances 28 and 27. In the same manner, when the controlling lever is moved over onto the fourth contact point 9, so that all of these contact points are made efiective, the magnet 17 will be energized after the filament 54 has established a flow of electrons between itself and the plate member and the armature 21 will be rocked so that the last resistance 28 will be cut out and the current will then flow directly to the motor. When the armature 21 rocks, the normally closed contactors 70 and 48 will be opened so that the conductor 49 will be cut out thereby breaking the circuit through the resistance 45 and the thermionic. tube 56.

It will be noted that the cutting out of the successive resistances in front of the motor is retarded due to the lag in the heating of the filaments in the several thermionic devices and this lag may be made greater or less by adjusting the respective variable resistances 51, 59, 60 and 61, the provision of these several variable resistances permitting the operator toset the mechanism so that one step in the starting of the motor may be accelerated and another step retarded and a very fine control of the motor will be thus effected. The variable resistance 51 is connected into the main resistance 45 at such point that the current passing into the several tubes will be just sufilcient to operate the tubes and at no time will the full strength of the current pass therelnto to the possible deterioration oi the filament. The operator is enabled, by my invention, to very easily control the flow of current to the motor so as to efiect a decided economy in the use of the same without diminishing the efilciency of the motor in any way. There are no complicated elements necessary in the operation of the invention so that any plant may be equipped with the invention at a very low cost, and it is to be particularly noted that the control lever, switch and tube resistances may be located at a point remote from the motor, and also that the load on the motor does not aflect the operation. The controller is not responsive to the controlled equipmen a Reverse movement of the controlling lever 7 will successively de-energize the coils 17, 16, 15 and 14, permitting the operator to bring the resistances 28, 27, 26 back into the motor circuit and slow down the motor at will.

In Fig. '4, I have shown the conductors 11, 12 and 13 Joined to each other and to the stationary member of the contactor 5 as well as to the movable member of a contactor 92, the controlling lever 93 being arranged between the two contactors and the conductor 10 connecting the coil 14 with the movable member of the contactor 92. A contact 94 is provided on the armature 18 to cooperate with a contact 95 which is connected to the fixed member of the contactor 5, the contact 94 being connected to the conductor 10. This arrangement permits the operator to move the lever 93 to starting position and then immedi release it. when the lever is put in starting position, the coil 14 is energized and current flows over conductor 10, through the coil and out over conductor 46. The armature is rocked and the contacts 94, 95 brought together whereupon, if the lever be released, the current will fiow from the contactor 5 to the contact 95 and thence to the contact 94, conductor 10. and through the coil so that the coil will remain energized. The coil will remain energized until the lever is rocked to open the contactor 5. The rest of the apparatus is as shown in Fig. 1, the variation in the time element being accomplished by the resistances connected with the tubes but the controller is operated solelyby the lever 93 which does not have the step by step action of the lever 7.

Having thus described the invention, I claim,

1. A motor control system comprising a plurality of electro-magnets, means for controlling the flow of current to the magnets, an armature cooperating with each of said magnets and having contactors, said armatures having insulated portions, circuits including the several armatures and certain of the contactors and adapted for carrying current to the motor, a plurality of thermionic tubes having plates and filaments, electrical connections between the plates of said tubes and said magnets, contactors carried by the insulated portions of the several armatures and adapted for diverting current through the magnets from the plates of the thermionic tubes into a common return, means for supplying current to the filaments of said tubes, and resistors in the circuit with the contactors of said insulated portions of said armatures and variable for controlling the temperature of the filaments in the circult.

2. A motor control system comprising an energizing circuit, a motor in said energizing circuit, a series of electro-magnets having armatures provided with contactors, certain of said contactors being electrically in series with the mo- 30 tor in the energizing circuit, a switch for progressively connecting the electro-magnets in the energizing circuit, thermionic tubes electrically connected with certain of the contactors of the electro-magnets, each of said thermionic tubes being adapted to control a magnet associated therewith, and a series of resistors connected in a circuit with contactors on the armature and to the motor whereby shifting of the switch will progressively energize the magnets for shifting the armatures and progressively short-circuit the resistors from the motor energizing circuit.

3. A motor control system including a motor energizing circuit, a motor in said circuit, a plurality of electro-magnet switches having armatures provided with contactors, certain of said contactors being in circuits electrically in series with said motor, said switches having coils, a thermionic tube connected with each electro-magnet switch and having a filament and a plate, said 4 plate being connected with the coil of each switch, other contactors or said switches being interposed in the energizing circuit and said tubes being arranged in circuits with respective other contactors 5 whereby successive closing of said energizing circuit through the several contactors to the monected with certain mature, said latter-mentioned contactors being insulated from said first-mentioned contactors, 

